A Tag-Team Art Competition Launches in the Bronx

Artist Natalie Collette Wood works on an installation in the Andrew Freedman Home in the Bronx, part of a virtually round-the-clock tag team art challenge. See more photos in our slideshow. See more photos in our slideshow.

Agaton Strom for The Wall Street Journal

At 2 a.m. Thursday, a weary Aaron Lazansky-Olivas spray-painted pastel yellows and greens onto wooden panels that would become an art installation at the Andrew Freedman Home in the Bronx.

“I’m fading,” he admitted with a laugh.

The abstract graffiti artist is part of a duo working virtually round-the-clock in a tag team art challenge. Inspired by adrenaline-driven shows like “the Amazing Race,” the Artist Chain Reaction competition pits five teams against each other to create art installations. The winners, to be named March 10, will share the $1,000 prize.

“We thought it would be exciting to put people on the spot and say ‘Here are some materials to work with and here’s how much time you have to do it,’” curator Jeanine Alfieri said earlier in the day.

Organizers selected 10 artists from a group of applicants then paired them with a stranger and gave them $300 for supplies, 10-square-feet of space and 24 hours to brainstorm before Wednesday’s kickoff.

“It’s such a cool idea,” said doll maker Cinnamon Willis Wednesday night, as she manipulated chicken wire with pliers. “Two artists might have two total different points of view, yet somehow it’ll have to come together and work.”

The competition is part of Armory Arts Week, a series of cultural events that celebrate the city’s varying art scenes. The weeklong event, which began in 2009, grew out of the popularity of the Armory Show, the annual internationally acclaimed art fair.

Artist Justin Hicks working on an installation using tape cassettes. Organizers selected 10 artists from a group of applicants, paired them with a stranger and gave them $300 for supplies and 24 hours to brainstorm.

Agaton Strom for The Wall Street Journal

At the Andrew Freedman Home, Artist Chain Reaction is running in tandem with a collection of Bronx vistas by painter Daniel Hauben and a video installation by Hwalan Shub that reinterprets playwright Eugene O’Neill’s “Mourning Becomes Electra.”

The historic mansion on the Grand Concourse makes for a surprising modern art venue. First opened in 1924, it served as a refuge for socialites who had lost their fortunes. It is owned now by the nonprofit Mid-Bronx Senior Citizens Council, which runs a food pantry, day care and Head Start program in the basement. A handful of the 123 bedrooms have been repurposed into artist studios. And the ground floor is home to a bed-and-breakfast and art galleries.

Of all the eclectic exhibitions here in the last two years, Artist Chain Reaction is the most ambitious, Ms. Alfieri said. She encouraged viewers to visit repeatedly throughout the weekend to be “part of the art making process.”

For abstract painter and sculptor Natalie Collette Wood, that voyeuristic element adds an intriguing dimension to the challenge.

“Having people watch you create energizes the work,” said Ms. Wood, who spent Wednesday night using small strips of black tape to fashion galaxies on the gallery wall. “I think it will help the artists make something new and exciting, something they probably wouldn’t make alone.”

Nearby, artists Andre Trenier and Justin Hicks were in the throes of an animated conversation comparing personal styles. Mr. Trenier is a painter known for using sneakers as his canvas. Mr. Hicks infuses music, text and video into his creations.

“We’ve been discussing why we make art and what art means to us,” said Mr. Trenier, who noted they both share a love of hip hop culture. “Hopefully in the end, people will get a sense of our commonality.”

Artists Andre Trenier, left, and Justin Hicks working on an installation. See more photos in our slideshow.

Agaton Strom for The Wall Street Journal

In a far corner, street artist Lady K-Fever and photographer Ira Merritt wove bright orange construction netting through weathered wooden frames as they worked to solidify their title concept, “Death of Civilization.”

“We’re playing with the idea of how Egyptian Pharaohs were buried with their worldly goods. So this could be a mausoleum for society,” Mr. Merritt said, motioning to a bag of empty bottles, milk cartons and takeout boxes. “It’s an evolution though. We may end up with something totally different.”

Mr. Lazansky-Olivas and artist partner Anthony Smith Jr. are similarly keeping an open mind, perhaps the greatest asset in the competition. The two, who both use foreign script in their paintings, spent hours conceptualizing their idea of a concert space for a virtual performance.

“I like to think of it like we have a piece of play dough and we’re playing with it, and seeing what works and what doesn’t work,” Mr. Lazansky-Olivas said. “It’s going to be a nice little seesaw ride.”

Corrections & amplifications: The surname of Hwalan Shub, an artist with a video installation at the Andrew Freedman Home in the Bronx, was incorrectly spelled as Shu in an article on March 8.